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The Altcoin Rises

O n May 11 2020, the crypto world experienced the phenomena knows as Bitcoin halving . For those who are still a little looney-toons regarding this phenomena, here's the lowdown . Moral of the story is that, as the Bitcoin supply decreased and it's 21 million market cap slowly approached, it was widely accepted that the low supply and high demand will increase the price of the cryptocurrency back to its previous highs. Basic business right? Wrong! Source: Equity Trust Company BTC prices actually fell and after briefly holding steady, are only just rising above the 10000 USD range. Surprise eh? Well, we are not done yet. Because while the most valuable crypto coin wasn't showing it's expected gains, some other cryptocurrencies shot to outer space. There was no SpaceX rocket nor a Tesla Roadster involved. These "altcoins" bumped up in their market value thanks to the entire underlying system of cryptocurrency: investor speculation.  But what exactly are these ...

Will There Be A Shakeup In The 2019 Formula 1 Order ?

The 2018 Formula One season ended with the delightful 
( though not for Nico Hulkenberg ) Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton yet again powered his Mercedes car past the chequered flag at the floodlit Yas Marina Circuit. It was a poetic end to a season where Hamilton established his dominance, winning his 5th Title and devastating Ferrari fans for yet another season.


                         

However this year has seen several rejigs in the drivers, with Fernando Alonso announcing his retirement, and Daniel Ricciardo moving to Renault ( after an ironically fraught season with a Renault powered car where he had to abandon races several times). Ferrari and Sauber are performing a swap- with Charles Leclerc heading for the prancing horse and Kimi Raikkonen joining the team who first brought him into Formula 1. Carlos Sainz Jr. joins Mclaren with Pierre Gasly taking Ricciardo's seat at Red Bull. Among other switches Robert Kubicka made his return to the motorsport, ready to take the driving seat for Williams in 2019.

As fast as Ferrari is, Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton are widely expected to defend their Constructor's championship and World Champion crown respectively. New aero changes notwithstanding, Ferrari are looking for a more positive 2019. 


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Young drivers have taken the F1 by storm recently what with Max Verstappen nearly always achieving podium finishes and Charles Leclerc pushing Sauber to higher heights. With a more powerful powertrain and with considerably more money and star power he could seriously damage Vettel's hope of joining Lewis with 5 titles.

Red Bull will be keenly hoping that a change to Honda power revives their fortunes, as they have always been a nearly there team since Vettel's departure for Maranello. McLaren will hope they can translate their recent success in road cars onto F1, even if the road and track are totally different departments.

And of course, a disappointing year for Valtteri Bottas will make him hungry to be the preferred driver ahead of Hamilton. The scene of him slowing down and gifting Lewis the victory in Russia, no doubt crosses his mind 24/7. 


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So no matter what people might say about Formula 1 being on its last legs, 2019 is going to be an all-out barbaric fight for the title. Expect carelessly overtakes, lots of Hulkenberg-Esque flips, backstabbing, power losses, kung fu wall punching, and generally faster cars as Hamilton tries to get closer to Michael Schumacher's all-time grand total: 7.

While the world shifts towards electric power, Formula 1 is an expensive but delightful finger to the decreasing oil supplies and general opposition to the screaming engine noises. But I bet that even if Lewey wins the title next season, he will be pretty damn close to losing it along the way.

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